Archive for December 2009

It’s 9:15 and we just got back from our New Year’s Eve party. 🙂 We didn’t stay long, there were lots of loud people and alcohol, so we said hi, had a few snacks, and walked home.

Kai has had a good week: she’s learning to smile and coos a little, which makes both her moms ecstatic. She’s in love with her mobile, and is starting to get the hang of falling asleep without being on top of one of us. Mrs Bean got two wrap slings in the mail this week and is trying to learn how to use them. She’s going to work on the ties one at a time so she can get good at them one at a time. So far, she has mastered the front wrap cross carry (FWCC). Kai falls asleep once she gets in – you almost don’t even need to walk around with her in it.

Sometimes when Kai is in the sling, she’ll start attempting to suck her fingers. I think she’s going to end up being a big time thumbsucker. She even likes to suck our fingers, and often tries to direct our fingers towards her mouth.

She’s getting longer, and now weights 9lbs 9oz! Sometimes it seems like some parts of her body just aren’t keeping up – like her toes. They’re like little sausages right now!

This week has been pretty great – the bean has been extra alert, and had a ‘mood swing’ day where she cried if offered the nipple, and was generally grumpy. I think she was growth spurting – she’s been feeding almost non-stop since then. She’s started staring at the mobile in her cradle, and sometimes she’ll try and bat at it.

She kind of looks like she’s got a giant butt and a pot belly, since her diapers are so thick. Even though we’re doubling her diapers, there are times when she does leak through. This girl can pee! In the picture below, you can see the onesie that Mrs Bean embroidered for her. There’s another one with a flying saucer.

We’ve been going on walks around town, along the lake, and through paths closer to our house. She usually sleeps through the walks, but she does spend some time at the beginning looking around. The sunhat we have is way too big for her, but the strap keeps it from blowing away.

Mrs Bean has a new obsession: reading about baby carriers. She’s been going through the forums at thebabywearer.com and after some research, decided to get a pikkolo baby carrier. A sling was out of the question since Kai hates being on her side – she only likes being upright. The moby is a pain to get on, and already causes Mrs Bean to sweat excessively, so it’s not going to work year-round here in Austin. The angelhawk is comfy, but Kai likes her feet out, so she doesn’t like being in this one too long. Mrs Bean has learned that the baby bjorn (which has been comfiest so far, and which Kai really likes) is totally terrible for the spinal/pelvic health of babies. Apparently, good slings have great resale values, so if the pikkolo doesn’t work out, she’ll sell it. I think her second choice is the Connecta Integra.

Solo outing
I’ve been back to work-ish this past week (well, I went to the office twice), so Mrs Bean had the chance to make a solo outing in the car with the bean…which was successful! Not that it was easy, but now we know it’s possible.

Baby observations
She spends many periods during the day awake and alert, and loves to swivel her head around and look at things. She’s really squirmy when she feeds, and has been having grumpy, fussy periods every day this week. They aren’t very long, but she does have them – this is supposed to be a developmental milestone.

Dairy: We have learned that Mrs Bean should avoid dairy. We thought Kai might’ve been sensitive a while ago, and Mrs Bean started avoiding dairy. Then…I made waffles and whipped cream for breakfast one day, and that was not a happy day. Kai had gas gas gas, and alot of pain in her belly for the next day and a half. Bad idea. We’ll try again in a few weeks.

Growth: She is over 9lbs now, and we’ve put her newborn-sized clothes away. Mrs Bean sniffled a little when we did this, but I think she’s fine 🙂 It works out, too, since Kai’s a heavy wetter and we’ve started doubling her diapers – there’s no way it would fit under the newborn-sized clothes!

Here she is in her friend’s monkey hand-me-down.

Our latest saviour: the nosefrida
Kai has been really snotty for weeks now. At first, we were using the bulb syringe, but she hated it, and would start shaking her head as soon as she saw it coming. We picked up a NoseFrida, and life has been so much easier now. We can suck the snot out of her nose with much less drama – it’s incredible how big her snot is – how does it all fit in there?

Monday: first trip to the grocery store! She stared at the fluorescent lights for a bit before falling asleep.Tuesday: attachment parenting meeting at the library. We signed out some diaper covers from the diaper library, and met a bunch of other parents and kids. Kai wasn’t particularly interested in any of the other kids.Wednesday: Kai’s first visit to the local baby stuff store, where we had to return a bunch of things. We happened to be there during the babywearer club meeting, so there were tons of moms and kids there.Thursday: Shopping trip for me! Mrs Bean and Kai tagged along while I went and got a pair of jeans. Since Kai fell asleep, Mrs Bean and I wandered around the shopping complex for a bit…I was in a bookstore for the first time in a long time (and ogled the Momofuku book), and we also checked out the selection of infant clothes at the department store. There are some weird and gaudy options out there… (gold and bedazzled, anyone?)Friday: Kai’s first latke party! There were 4 other couples there, and one other baby – all from our pre-natal parenting class. We had a great time, and Kai was awake and attentive for most of the night, but told us in no uncertain terms when we got home that she had been overstimulated. So, we’re keeping things quiet this weekend.

Hopefully, this isn’t the start of a bunch of new habits, but it probably is. (Mrs Bean just looked over my shoulder and thought that was a pessimistic thought…well, how else should I put it?) Today, the little bean has slept for all of 30 minutes since we got out of bed at 10:30 (it’s 2:45 now). She doesn’t want to sleep, she’s not particularly hungry, and she’s really enjoying looking around. So, I think her days of just eating and sleeping are waning, and her days of being alert and active will start soon. But then again, what do I know? We have Touchpoints on hold at the library, and I will know more once I read it 🙂

Kai is 8lbs 5oz today, so she’s gained nearly 2lbs since her birth. At our 2 week checkup with the midwife, she had to have her head measured twice – our midwife couldn’t believe how much bigger her head was! She gained 1″ in head circumference! So, perhaps she’s not really losing hair, it’s just distributed over a larger surface area…

Kai has been having a problem with snot lately, so the suction bulb has been really handy. We’ve also injected breast milk up her nose using a 1ml syringe (we’re only using about 0.1-0.2ml per nostril) which has also helped with clearing up her nose. Sort of like using a neti pot, except the milk comes out the back of her mouth instead of the other nostril.